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Beowulf (/ ˈ b eɪ ə w ʊ l f /; [1] Old English: Bēowulf [ˈbeːowuɫf]) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature .
Tolkien made use of Beowulf, along with other Old English sources, for many aspects of the Riders of Rohan. Their land was the Mark, its name a version of the Mercia where he lived, in Mercian dialect *Marc. Their names are straightforwardly Old English: Éomer and Háma (characters in Beowulf), Éowyn ("Horse-joy"), Théoden ("King").
It is in the Beowulf manuscript (also known as the Nowell Codex, London, British Library, Cotton Vitellius A. xv). [5] It is written in Late West Saxon [6] in a Mercian dialect. [7] Other than Beowulf and The Wonders of the East, the other works in this codex include: The Passion of St. Christopher, Alexander's Letter to Aristotle, and Judith.
Remounted page from Beowulf, British Library Cotton Vitellius A.XV, 133r First page of Beowulf, contained in the damaged Nowell Codex (132r). The Nowell Codex is the second of two manuscripts comprising the bound volume Cotton MS Vitellius A XV, one of the four major Old English poetic manuscripts.
Map of the Beowulf region, showing the protagonist's voyage to Heorot. The anonymous author of Beowulf praises Heorot as large enough to allow Hrothgar to present Beowulf with a gift of eight horses, each with gold-plate headgear. [5] It functions both as a seat of government and as a residence for the king's thanes (warriors).
The next day, Beowulf was lauded and a skald sang and compared Beowulf with the hero Sigmund. However, during the following night Grendel's mother arrived to avenge her son's death and collect weregild. As Beowulf slept in a different building he could not stop her. He resolved to descend into the bog in order to kill her.
Beowulf relates the exploits of the hero Beowulf, King of the Weder-Geats or Angles, around the middle of the 5th century. The author is unknown, and no mention of Britain occurs. Scholars are divided over the date of the present text, with hypotheses ranging from the 8th to the 11th centuries.
An "æsc wiga," which stands for 'ash-spear warrior' (from the Beowulf) Spears were the most common weapons in Anglo-Saxon England. [12] They have been found in about 85% of weapon-containing early Anglo-Saxon graves. Overall, approximately 40% of adult male graves from this period contained spears. [13]